Blog

 

Welcome to our blog. Staff at the Tenants' Union and occasional guests offer their commentary and analysis of our renting system. We hope to inform, educate and debate the legal, political and cultural aspects of this renting life. For an official quote for media use, or questions regarding our research, policy or publications please contact us. For more articles see the Brown Couch archive, the Clearing House, and general news.  For factsheets see Tenancy info.

 

Riley Brooke | 28/02/2022

Beyond eviction: alternative approaches to respond to NSW renting households in crisis

As we emerge from 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have the opportunity to evaluate and learn from our experiences during the health crisis and build a fairer NSW renting system that is…
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Jemima Mowbray | 22/02/2022

The true cost of eviction

Our recent special report, Eviction, Hardship and the Housing Crisis, looks closely at the immediate and direct costs of moving. This blog explores the true costs of eviction, and asks what we…
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Amanda El Gazzar | 03/02/2022

Shifts in the balance of power – reflecting on 15 years of Tenant Advocacy

Amanda El Gazzar has been a Tenant Advocate at the Northern Rivers Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service for 15 years. She is now taking a well-earned break and looking at other possibilities. We…
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Leo Patterson Ross | 20/12/2021

New ministers for renting, housing and homes in NSW

Premier Dominic Perrottet has today announced a new line-up of Government Ministers in NSW. Here we look at the relevant Ministers for people who rent their home in the state.
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Tenants' Union | 20/12/2021

Riki's renting story

As part of our relaunch of the Make Renting Fair campaign, we're building a new website. For the site, we're collecting a range of renting stories from various renters across NSW, to…
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Riley Brooke | 16/11/2021

Turning down free money: landlords and the problem of the split incentive

On November 11 the NSW ban on evictions for impacted tenants ended. We’ve now moved into a period of transitional protections. This means if you are an 'impacted tenant' and built up…
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Leo Patterson Ross | 01/11/2021

End of fixed term evictions are unfair 'no grounds' evictions: Part 2

End of fixed term without a reason eviction is still without a reason. We explore different kinds of eviction and the best ways to understand them in this second part!
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Jemima Mowbray | 01/11/2021

End of fixed term evictions are unfair ‘no grounds’ evictions: Part 1

If you’ve been following the news about recent reforms to Queensland tenancy laws lately you’d be forgiven for thinking there had been a big win for renters we’d somehow missed or forgotten to…
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Robert Mowbray | 30/09/2021

Older women facing homelessness in Australia: from awareness to action

On Friday, 17 September 2021 HAAG organised the online forum, ‘At Risk 2021 Forum’, hoping to move us on from an acknowledgement of the problem of older women and homelessness to real action to…
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Lehana De Silva | 27/09/2021

Can an owners corporation legally mandate vaccination in a strata community?

Recently, a residential complex in Sydney informed residents it would be requiring that all persons entering the building must be vaccinated, which raises the question can an owners corporation…
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Paul van Reyk | 14/09/2021

The high risks faced by international student renters in Australia.

International students in Australia make a huge contribution to the economy and the community. They also face serious struggles and hardships. Finding and keeping rental accommodation is one of…
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Robert Mowbray | 12/08/2021

The tale of Alan and Annie: living in affordable housing and retiring from paid work

‘What happens to an affordable housing tenant when they retire? Will they be forced to move?’ The Tenants' Union of NSW isn't sure of the answer to this question. So, Robert Mowbray…
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